Fly it with pride
Long jumper confident of winning gold for Malaysia in Paralympics
Paralympic Council of malaysia patron Tun Jeanne Abdullah handing over the malaysia flag to long jumper Abdul latif romly. The malaysian contingent left early to rio de Janeiro for the Paralympics, which will be held from sept 7-18. looking on (from left) are national sports Council (nsC) director-general Datuk Ahmad shapawi and former Prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The 19-year-old Abdul latif has set himself a lofty target – break the world record for men’s long jump in the T20 (intellectually challenged) and bag the nation’s first-ever Paralympic gold medal.
KUALA LUMPUR: An in-form Abdul Latif Romly is ready to leap into history at the Rio Paralympics next month.
The 19-year-old has set his sights on breaking the world record for men’s long jump in the T20 category and bag the nation’s first-ever Paralympics gold medal.
The world record of 7.37m, set by Jose Exposito of Spain, has stood since 2003 and the Perlis-born Abdul Latif is hoping to better the mark in Rio Paralympics, which will be held from Sept 7-18.
The teenager, who is diagnosed with intellectual disability, isn’t boasting.
Abdul Latif is ranked second in the world in his category and was one of Malaysia’s two gold medallists at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar, last year.
He cleared 7.35m in Doha for a new championship record.
Mohd Ridzuan Mohd Puzi contributed the other gold medal in the men’s 100m T36 category.
Abdul Latif, who is also the flag bearer for the Malaysian contingent in Rio, said he has high hopes after winning the men’s long jump gold at the Sukma in Kuching last month.
“I cleared 7.46m in Sukma, so I know it’s something I can achieve.
“It’s only about getting my technique right. One good leap may be enough, but I hope to break the world record. Hopefully, I can achieve my target to win the gold medal in Rio.
“I trained in Germany recently to prepare for the Paralympics,” said Abdul Latif, who will be making his Paralympics debut in Rio.
Abdul Latif also welcomed the announcement from Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that para-athletes will receive the same incentives as their able-bodied counterparts.
If Abdul Latif strikes gold, he will be an instant millionaire as the government has promised a RM1mil reward for gold. Silver is worth RM300,000 and bronze RM100,000.
The medal winners in Rio will also be given a lifetime allowance of RM5,000 (gold), RM3,000 (silver) and RM2,000 (bronze).
The previous incentive scheme for the Paralympics was RM300,000 for gold, RM200,000 for silver and RM100,000 for bronze.
“We are grateful to the government for recognising our efforts. But it’s not about the money ... I want to win it for myself,” said Abdul Latif.
Led by chef de mission Dr Ang Kean Koo, Malaysia’s 21 athletes (19 men and two women) left yesterday for Rio, where they will compete in eight out of the 23 sports in the Paralympic programme.
Malaysia will be represented in athletics, archery, cycling, powersailing, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair tennis.
Malaysia have yet to win a gold at the Paralympics. In London four years ago, archer Hasihin Sanawi took silver in the individual recurve for the W1 category while Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli bagged bronze in the shot putt.